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Tomorrow, speech students from across Iowa will participate in District Individual Speech Competitions.

Both Perry and Adel-DeSoto-Minburn will be sending several students to Boone High School to compete. Perry Speech Coach Wendy Bollhoefer says individual speech is very different from large group, and though she enjoys both, she says there’s something special about individual. “The thing I love about individual is spending that one-on-one time with the student. You really get to know each other, we have a lot of fun. We’re dissecting literature, or we’re pulling apart a piece or a play or a drama, or whatever, and so we get to have some really good conversations.”

ADM Speech Coach Jacque Seidl also enjoys how different individual speech can be from large group, including allowing the students to pick their own pieces. “I just think it’s so much more individualized. You get a half-hour two to three times a week that you just get to work with me, and I get to learn your voice and learn your talents. And we fine-tune things that at the group level I maybe wouldn’t get that time to work with you.”

The District Speech Competition is open to the public, with tickets costing $3 per person. All proceeds go to the host school. Entries that earn a “I” rating at districts will advance to the State Competition, which will be held on March 10th at Nevada High School.